This course is aimed at senior mental health practitioners working with the Mental Health Act, the main piece of legislation covering the assessment, treatment and rights of people experiencing mental distress in England and Wales. This includes staff working in NHS mental health trusts across England and Wales (Band 7 or above) and we will consider applications from equivalent roles in local authority mental health teams and in independent mental health inpatient services.

This is not open to individuals paying for themselves. Bookings must be made by the organisation who can put forward up to 10 suitable candidate(s) – this is because we believe that to achieve meaningful practice change there needs to be a commitment to a human rights-based approach from the wider organisation.

This online course aims to enhance the knowledge and confidence of senior leaders in mental health care to uphold their legal duties under the Human Rights Act and build a culture of respect for human rights in their service. The ultimate aim of this programme is to ensure that people drawing on mental health services have their human rights respected, protected, and fulfilled.

Over three workshops, participants will:

• Learn about the Human Rights Act, the legal duties it puts on public officials, and how it works alongside mental health legislation.
• Apply key human rights in mental health care, with an exploration of how difficult situations can be navigated by balancing rights.
• Adopt new practical frameworks into the application of policies and processes to guide rights-respecting decision-making across their organisations and help reduce restrictive practice.

Participants will receive a certificate on completion of this 3-part programme - attendance at all three workshops is required to qualify for this.

Please note that this is not training on the Mental Health Act itself. BIHR’s expertise is in the Human Rights Act and how it applies in practice, including alongside other relevant legislation.